When Maurisha’s father asked her to follow him on a grocery run nine years ago, she had no idea that her life was about to change. To this day it is her favourite memory – the day they adopted a three-month-old puppy.
“I’d wanted and pestered my parents for a dog for years! Out of the blue, my dad tells me he wants me to accompany him shopping. Little did I know that we were actually going to adopt a dog,” Maurisha tells FMT.
“Everyone at home was so surprised when we came home with her.”
Baileys was the only female out of a litter of seven. “We got her from a family in Petaling Jaya. My father and I were actually looking to adopt a male, but to our surprise, she was the only pup who responded to us,” Maurisha recalls.
“We decided on the name Baileys not just because of her colour but because it was the only name she responded to.”
Baileys, a Rottweiler-German Shepherd mix, turns nine on July 7. Given her breed, people tend to think she’s fierce and aggressive, but Maurisha insists this is far from the case.
“She’s such a friendly and loving doggo. She’s especially sneaky, too. I remember once, when she was a puppy, she ran upstairs to my parents’ room and slept near their bed without any of us realising.
“But she was too scared to climb back down the stairs!” she laughs. “She literally stood at the top of the stairs, looking down and shivering. We always had to go up to carry her down.”
As it turned out, the stairs were just one of Baileys’ fears. Maurisha rattles off a list:
- Getting her nails clipped: “The moment she sees us getting the clippers, she runs to a corner.”
- Heavy rain and thunder: “If she’s outside the house during that time, she’ll start crying and whimpering.”
- Getting water on her face: “She loves her showertime but if her face gets wet, she tries to run away.”
Like most dogs, Baileys enjoys the simple things. “She gets so excited when she goes on a walk or a car ride. And she loves to sunbathe on our porch.
“Besides that, she’s definitely a foodie! She will eat anything, from meats to fruits and veggies – she’s not fussy. The only thing she dislikes is probably taking medication, but then again, who doesn’t?”
Maurisha shares that Baileys loves to rest in several spots around the house. “During the day she’ll either be on the floor or on the couch. At night, she sleeps on her bed.
“Funny thing is, if her bed isn’t on the floor, she’ll drag it off the chair or wherever it is and set it up in her usual spot to sleep!”
She recalls that when she and her father first brought Baileys home, some of her family members were excited, while others were less so. “Over the years, though, everyone developed the same soft spot for her,” Maurisha reflects.
“She’s brought so much joy and life into our lives with her shenanigans. She’s been a true blessing to us.”
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.